tion of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations) became involved in workplace safety and health issues in 1970. Labor activists centered in Washington, D.C. successfully lobbied union officials, executives in the federal bureaucracy, and public health reformers. The foremost of these activists were George Taylor of the AFL-CIO, Anthony Mazzochi of the OCAW (Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers), and John Sheehan, a lobbyist for the USWA (United Steel Workers of America). These labor activists were forced to break through the general indifference of the unions to the demands of labor for workplace reform.
The main contribution of activists in the consumer safety and environmentalist movements to workplace reform was heightening public awareness of corporate indifference regarding general health issues. For instance, Ralph Nader demonstrated that the major automakers were unconcerned about the safety hazards of their products. Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring demonstrated the dire environmental consequences of irresponsible industrial corporations. The consciousness of American voters was raised regarding the need for federal intervention in business affairs that impacted health and safety. Environmentalists and consumer safety activists also lobbied in favor of occupational health and safety legislation. In addition, these groups contributed to the congressional debate over the passage of the OSH Act by proving that workplace reform was in the general public interest, not just a special concession to the unions: "In 1968 a coalition of more than a hundred labor, consumer, religious, and environmental groups formed to lobby for the OSH Act, giving the impression of widespread support for this reform" (Noble, 1986, p. 78).
Influential in the growing support for occupational safety and health issues was the distribution to the general public of data regarding workplace hazards and their drain on human resources. By 1...